The RCP oversight group for activity related to physician associates, or the RCP PA oversight group, has developed three interim sets of draft guidance that will apply to those PAs working in the medical specialties (also known as the physician specialties).
These draft documents cover scope of practice for PAs working in general internal medicine, the supervision and employment of PAs, and titles and introductions for PAs, and are currently sitting with RCP Council. If approved, the interim guidance will be published tomorrow (Tuesday 17 December).
Now that PAs are a regulated profession, the Faculty of Physician Associates will close on 31 December. The independent review of PA and AA professions (the Leng review) is now underway, and these RCP interim guidance documents are intended to act as a placeholder to support physicians and the wider healthcare team until the Leng review reports its findings in spring 2025.
Patient safety is our absolute priority. In our submission to the Leng review, the RCP will be calling for the publication of a nationally agreed scope and ceiling of practice for PAs, a review of the projections for growth in the PA role in the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, and a review of the way the PA role impacts training opportunities for resident doctors.